An angry Vice President Kamala Harris excoriated Donald Trump, saying he is to blame during a visit to Arizona on Friday after the state Supreme Court ruled that an 1864 law banning nearly all abortions could be enforced.
“Donald Trump did this,” Harris said. She called him the ‘architect of this health care crisis” and blasted the ex-president for saying he is “proudly the person responsible” for overturning Roe.
The vice president has been a leading figure in the Biden administration advocating for abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“As much damage as he has already caused, a second Trump term would be even worse. Donald Trump’s friends in Congress are trying to pass a national ban, and understand that a national ban would ban abortion in every state,” Harris warned.
Harris claimed that a second Trump term would mean “more bans, more suffering and less freedom.”
“Just like he did in Arizona, he basically wants to take America back to the 19th century. But we won’t let that happen,” Harris said. “This is 2024, not the 1800s, and we’re not going back.”
Vice President Harris speaks Friday in Tucson, Arizona, after the state Supreme Court upheld an 1864 abortion ban. She castigated the ex-president, saying: ‘Donald Trump did this’
Harris called the Arizona Supreme Court’s abortion decision “one of the biggest aftershocks yet” after Roe was overturned
The vice president’s visit to Tucson came shortly after the state Supreme Court lifted a stay on the 160-year-old law banning abortion, meaning it could go into effect within 14 days.
“They turned back the clock to the 19th century to take away a woman’s most fundamental right: the right to make decisions about her own body,” Harris said.
“This Arizona Supreme Court decision now means that women here are living, women here are living under one of the most extreme abortion bans in our country,” she added.
Harris called the ruling one of the “largest aftershocks yet” after Roe was overturned.
Women await Vice President Harris’ speech in Tucson, Arizona, Friday
Trump posted on social media on Friday that the Arizona Supreme Court “went too far with its abortion ruling.”
He wrote ‘now the Governor and Arizona Legislature must ACT HEART, COMMON SENSE and IMMEDIATELY to fix what happened. Remember, it is now up to the states and the goodwill of those who represent THE PEOPLE.
He also called for exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. Civil War law has only an exception to save the mother’s life.
Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, has called on the legislature to immediately repeal the ban.
But on Wednesday, Republicans in both chambers of the state Legislature blocked Democrats’ efforts to introduce bills to roll back the 1864 law.
Both chambers of the Arizona state legislature are controlled by Republicans.
It came just hours after Trump said it would be “corrected” and suggested it would happen very soon.
The Biden-Harris campaign announced a new seven-figure advertising blitz in Arizona on Thursday, directly targeting Trump on abortion rights, following the state Supreme Court’s decision.
Trump wrote that Arizona’s ruling on abortion “went too far” after the state Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law. The issue went back to the states after Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022
Trump claimed Wednesday that Arizona’s ban would be “corrected” soon, but hours later Republicans in the state legislature blocked attempts to roll back the 1864 law.
The Arizona court’s 4-2 decision paved the way for a law that was written nearly fifty years before Arizona became a state and more than fifty years before women had the right to vote.
The law prescribes two to five years in prison for anyone who participates in an abortion, unless the procedure is necessary to save the mother’s life.
Harris has been on a “Fight for Reproductive Freedom” tour across the country, with stops in Wisconsin, California, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Minnesota.
Last month, she became the first sitting vice president or president to ever visit an abortion clinic, with a trip to a Planned Parenthood facility in Minnesota.
Harris became the first sitting vice president or president to visit an abortion clinic last month with a visit to Planned Parenthood in Saint Paul, MN
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state can enforce its long-dormant law that criminalizes all abortions except when a mother’s life is at stake. Pictured: Thousands protest at the Arizona State Capitol following the 2022 Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade
The 4-2 decision could impact other states seeking to restrict abortion and could have far-reaching implications for the 2024 elections. Pictured: Arizona Supreme Court justices, left to right; William G. Montgomery, John R Lopez IV, Deputy Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer, Chief Justice Robert M. Brutinel, Clint Bolick and James Been
On Monday, Trump said his position on abortion is that it should be left to the states.
The ex-president made the announcement in a four-and-a-half-minute video on Truth Social.
His comments signaled a shift from his previous suggestions that he would consider a federal ban, as the issue of abortion has proven politically toxic for Republicans in recent elections.
“Trump wants us to believe he won’t sign a national ban. Enough with the gaslighting,” Harris said Friday.
Some Republicans in tough races have also reversed course on the issue after the state Supreme Court ruling, including Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake.
In a more than five-minute video Thursday, Lake said the state Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the 1864 law is “not consistent” with where Arizonans are.
But in 2022, Lake praised the law as “great” as she ran for governor.
Donald Trump released a video on Monday praising the overturning of Roe v Wade and saying he believes the issue of abortion should be left for the states to decide.
Arizona passed a 15-week abortion ban in 2022, but the state Supreme Court upheld Arizona’s 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions, with no exceptions for rape or incest
Last week, a coalition of advocates announced that they had already collected more than 500,000 petition signatures. The threshold to put a measure on the ballot is 383,923 and the deadline is still three months away, July 3.
Arizona for Abortion Access said the amendment appears to be on track to go before voters this fall.